Gerhard Mitter

Gerhard Mitter. Copyright of Erwin Jelinek/Technisches Museum Wien (www.technischesmuseum.at). Used with permission as photo is available under a Creative Commons License, 2016.

Born:

30 Aug 1935Schonlinde (Now Krasna Lipa, Czech Republic)

Died:

01 Aug 1969Nurburgring Circuit

Nationality:

Germany

Grands Prix:

5 (1963-1969)

F2 starts:

3 (1967-1969)

Killed in qualifying for the 1969 German GP. A real all-rounder, Gerhard, a professional mechanic, was Porsche's works driver. As well as being a sportscar ace, he won three European Hillclimb titles. Mitter's family moved from the Sudetenland due to the political upheaval caused by the Nazi Party and settled in Stuttgart. Gerhard's father ran a garage and Mitter got interested in cars, even though he actually started in motorcycles. He became an engine preparer which alerted him to Porsche, which is where his career really took off, impressing the marque as a development driver and his prowess then almost overshadowed his engineering work for the firm.